“The only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilised community, against their will, is to prevent harm to others.”
John Stuart Mill · Liberalism
freedomjusticepower
Well attested
Philosopher
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John Stuart Mill
1806–1873 · Liberalism · Modern
John Stuart Mill revised Bentham's utilitarianism and wrote the classic liberal argument of On Liberty. He was educated by his father, James Mill, in an experiment he later described with unusual honesty in the Autobiography. Harriet Taylor Mill shaped the work, on his own account, and The Subjection of Women is partly hers in thought even though the book is in his name.
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Utility, for him, is the greatest happiness, and then, in a revision Bentham would not have made, pleasures differ in quality. Socrates dissatisfied outranks the fool satisfied. On Liberty limits compulsion to the prevention of harm to others, and defends experiments in living against the tyranny of custom. He excludes children, and populations he wrongly calls uncivilised, from the full principle.
Those exclusions are part of using him, not a stain to hide. Chapter 5 of Utilitarianism tries to show that justice is not a rival to utility but a set of requirements high in its scale. Whether that try works is still the argument. He writes clear English. The clarity is why he is easy to quote a sentence too early.
Start here
On Liberty, chapters 1 to 3, then Utilitarianism chapter 2.
The harm principle and the defence of individuality are the public Mill. Chapter 2 of Utilitarianism stops you reducing him to a calculator of quantities.
Quotations
“It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied.”
John Stuart Mill · Liberalism
happinessknowledgevirtue
Well attested
“The legal subordination of one sex to the other is wrong in itself, and now one of the chief hindrances to human improvement.”
John Stuart Mill · Liberalism
justicefreedomsociety
Well attested
“If all mankind minus one were of one opinion, and only one person were of the contrary opinion, mankind would be no more justified in silencing that one person than he, if he had the power, would be justified in silencing mankind.”
John Stuart Mill · Liberalism
freedomknowledgejustice
Well attested
“The peculiar evil of silencing the expression of an opinion is that it is robbing the human race.”
John Stuart Mill · Liberalism
freedomknowledgesociety
Well attested
“The worth of a state, in the long run, is the worth of the individuals composing it.”
John Stuart Mill · Liberalism
societyvirtuefreedom
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“He who lets the world, or his own portion of it, choose his plan of life for him, has no need of any other faculty than the ape-like one of imitation.”
John Stuart Mill · Liberalism
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“The creed which accepts as the foundation of morals Utility, or the Greatest Happiness Principle, holds that actions are right in proportion as they tend to promote happiness, wrong as they tend to produce the reverse of happiness.”
John Stuart Mill · Liberalism
ethicshappinessjustice
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“The sole evidence it is possible to produce that anything is desirable is that people do actually desire it.”
John Stuart Mill · Liberalism
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Well attested
“Justice is a name for certain moral requirements, which, regarded collectively, stand higher in the scale of social utility.”
John Stuart Mill · Liberalism
justiceethicssociety
Well attested
Key ideas
Harm principle
Force is justified only to prevent harm to others, not for a person's own good.
Qualitative hedonism
Pleasures differ in kind. Competent judges who know both sides are his evidence.
Liberty of discussion
Silencing an opinion robs the human race, including those who hold the winning view.
Subjection
The legal subordination of one sex is wrong in itself and blocks everyone's improvement.
Justice
A name for moral requirements that sit higher in social utility than ordinary expediency.
Major works
On Liberty (1859)
Harm, discussion, individuality, and the limits of the state.
Utilitarianism (1863)
The creed, the pig and Socrates, the proof, and justice.
The Subjection of Women (1869)
Equality as a demand of liberty and of utility.
Autobiography (1873)
The education, the depression, and Harriet Taylor Mill.
Influences
Influenced
Common misreadings
- The harm principle is not 'do no harm'. It is a limit on compulsion. Persuasion stays open.
- The greatest-happiness sentence without the pig is Bentham. The quality of pleasures is the revision.
- He is not a neutral observer of women's subordination. He says it is wrong in itself, and he says the work was shared with Harriet Taylor Mill.
Famous lines John Stuart Mill never said
None of the lines this library files for John Stuart Mill is marked Questionable or Misattributed. That is only a fact about these cards. It is not a certificate that every popular sentence is theirs.
FAQ
What is the best book to start with?
On Liberty, chapters 1 to 3, then Utilitarianism chapter 2. The harm principle and the defence of individuality are the public Mill. Chapter 2 of Utilitarianism stops you reducing him to a calculator of quantities.
What is the most famous quote?
This library does not measure fame, and it does not rank lines by how often they are shared. The first line it files for John Stuart Mill that is not marked Questionable or Misattributed is “The only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilised community, against their will, is to prevent harm to others.” (On Liberty, chapter 1, Well attested).
What is the most misquoted line?
None of the lines this library files for John Stuart Mill is marked Misattributed or Questionable. That is a fact about these cards, not a certificate that every popular sentence is theirs.
What is one key idea, in a sentence?
Harm principle: Force is justified only to prevent harm to others, not for a person's own good.